A Safavid brass Qibla indicator and horizontal dial Persia, 17th/...
A Safavid brass Qibla indicator and horizontal dial
Persia, 17th/ 18th Century
of rectangular form on four waisted feet, engraved with hour lines, place names, cardinal directions and meridian line
9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 cm.
Inscriptions: the city names Mosul, Erbil, Samarra, Dumdum, Baghdad, Kufa, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Hamadan, Qazvin, Golpayegan, Qom, Kashan, Mazinan, Isfahan, Nishabur, Mashhad, Tun, Tabas, Shiraz, Herat, Qayen, Kerman, Badakhshan, Narmashir, Bam, Qandahar, Hurmuz, Multan, Thanesar, Hyderabad, Ajmer, the port of Surat, Dawlatabad, Somnath, Burhanpur, Sarandib (the island of Sri Lanka).
The present lot is an instrument which performs two vital functions for prayer, in both indicating the 'equal hours' and the qibla direction. For further information and a comparable example in the Khalili Collection, see Francis Maddison and Emilie Savage-Smith, Science Tools and Magic, Part One, Oxford, 1997, pp. 272-274, no. 163. For an example sold at Christie's, see Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, 27 April 2023, lot 33.
Important Notice to Buyers
Some countries, e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of works of particular origins. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) and Syrian origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid on or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.
Bid on this lot
A Safavid brass Qibla indicator and horizontal dial
Persia, 17th/ 18th Century
of rectangular form on four waisted feet, engraved with hour lines, place names, cardinal directions and meridian line
9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 cm.
Inscriptions: the city names Mosul, Erbil, Samarra, Dumdum, Baghdad, Kufa, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Hamadan, Qazvin, Golpayegan, Qom, Kashan, Mazinan, Isfahan, Nishabur, Mashhad, Tun, Tabas, Shiraz, Herat, Qayen, Kerman, Badakhshan, Narmashir, Bam, Qandahar, Hurmuz, Multan, Thanesar, Hyderabad, Ajmer, the port of Surat, Dawlatabad, Somnath, Burhanpur, Sarandib (the island of Sri Lanka).
The present lot is an instrument which performs two vital functions for prayer, in both indicating the 'equal hours' and the qibla direction. For further information and a comparable example in the Khalili Collection, see Francis Maddison and Emilie Savage-Smith, Science Tools and Magic, Part One, Oxford, 1997, pp. 272-274, no. 163. For an example sold at Christie's, see Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, 27 April 2023, lot 33.
Important Notice to Buyers
Some countries, e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of works of particular origins. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) and Syrian origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid on or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.
